Ages & Stages

Tips & Advice

Teach Brightly

Subscribe

The Best Holiday Gifts for Teens

by the Brightly Editors

It isn’t always easy to find the just-right holiday presents for teen readers. We’ve put together this guide to help you find the unique gift you’ve been searching for. From fantasy books to historical fiction to motivational nonfiction, these are the best young adult books to gift inspiration, magic, and perspective this holiday season. Add some wrapping paper and they’ll be ready for gifting during Hanukkah, Christmas, and beyond!

Markus Zusak crafted a modern masterpiece in The Book Thief, and he now returns with a new spellbinding family saga. Bridge of Clay is the extraordinary story of five brothers coping with loss and past sins, and coming to terms with deep-rooted secrets.

This latest from the bestselling author of the Mistborn series introduces readers to Spensa, a young girl living in a world under attack, whose only dream is to become a pilot and take part in the battles. Despite her difficult past, an unexpected discovery may prove the key to not only getting her into night school, but also saving the world.

Every teen is sure to find a favorite piece in this label-defying anthology from 13 of today’s most popular YA authors including Nicola Yoon, Jason Reynolds, and Melissa de la Cruz. In short stories, plays, and a graphic novel, Fresh Ink takes on issues, such as coming out and gentrification, that are sure to resonate with today’s readers.

This haunting psychological thriller centers on a group of friends who reunite at coastal estate one year after the death of their friend. Still reeling from the loss, they are caught off guard when a bizarre stranger turns the group and reality upside down. Pessl has penned a completely enthralling puzzle-box of a novel.

Numair Salmalín is one of the most powerful mages in the realm and a prominent character in Pierce’s beloved Immortals series. In Tempest and Slaughter, he’s still just Arram Draper, a gifted, young student making his way through magic school with his two best friends. Fantasy at its finest, this book sets the scene for a riveting new series in the Tortall universe.

In the finale of their Illuminae Files trilogy, bestselling duo Kaufman and Kristoff brings the story of Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik to its heart-pounding conclusion. Their lives and the fate of Kerenza itself will hinge on one final, devastating battle.

Gerta has survived the Holocaust but has lost her entire family in a Nazi concentration camp. Now that she’s free, she must figure out how to start living. This powerful, beautifully illustrated story will enthrall fans of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Book Thief.

Monica is still in mourning five years after the loss of her sister, one of five Sunnybrook High cheerleaders to all suspiciously die within a month of one another. Could their deaths be connected? Monica is about to find out in this dark and intense murder mystery sure to leave readers in suspense until the very end.

In an epic love triangle, Coop is in love with his longtime BFF, Jupiter, but Jupiter might be falling for her friend Rae, and Rae might have feelings for both Coop and Jupiter. Told from all three characters’ perspectives, Odd One Out is a tale of self-discovery that explores friendship, romance, and what can exist between. A more-than-worthy follow-up to Stone’s heart-wrenching debut, Dear Martin.

Here’s the perfect stocking stuffer for John Green fans: a miniature edition of The Fault in Our Stars small enough to fit in a pocket or purse. This mini includes the complete text on ultra-thin paper so that readers can hold it in just one hand. The best things really do come in the smallest packages!

Return to the world of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children in this fourth installment of the popular series. New wonders and dangers await Jacob Portman and the rest of the peculiars. Haunting vintage photographs enhance the atmosphere of this most unusual and absorbing adventure.

In the sequel to Lu’s bestseller Warcross, Emika is on the run from Hideo after discovering his plan to control humankind. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the man she thought she loved, including teaming up with Zero and his band of outlaws.

Kay Donovan has reinvented herself into the perfect life — she’s a star athlete, she’s popular, she has beautiful friends. A dead body found in the lake, however, is all it will take to topple Kay’s carefully constructed life and put her very survival at stake in this page-turning YA thriller.

Khorram’s heartfelt and powerful debut centers on Darius Kellner, a young man who is Persian on his mother’s side but is more fluent in Klingon than Farsi. When he takes his first ever trip to Iran, his world is irrevocably altered in ways that are unexpected, bittersweet, and incredibly relatable for anyone who has rediscovered their roots.

It has been several years since a warlord killed Caledonia’s parents and kidnapped her brother. Now the captain of a ship, and with the seas beckoning her, Captain Caledonia Styx is taking her all-female crew with her on a mission of revenge and an adventure of a lifetime.

Fans of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist will love this cute and uplifting modern day “Cinderfella” story. Cameron and Nate felt an instant connection upon meeting, but the only thing left of that night is a blurry picture of Nate’s decorated high top shoes on Cameron’s phone. The Internet can help bring them back together, but it will take a mix of music and emotion before they can find their Happily Ever After.

The March for Our Lives Founders have compiled essays, conversations, speeches, and photos to tell their stories of grief, anger, inspiration, and unified action in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Any teen who is interested in current events, self-expression, and activism will find much to connect with in this inspired collection.

Written in free verse, this historical novel centers on 17th-century Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. McCullough describes how, as a teenager, Gentileschi used art to cope with the experience of taking her rapist to trial in a patriarchal society. Blood Water Paint is a devastating, beautifully written narrative that will appeal to YA readers with a passion for art history, feminism, and poetry.